DPR: Ammunition at Ukrainian military depot near Gorlovka exploded

The Ukrainian army ammunition depot located in the area of Zaytsevo village under the control of Ukraine exploded yesterday as a result of violations of the safety precautions, Deputy Operations Commander of Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Eduard Basurin informed Donetsk News Agency.

“On August 15th, at around 10 PM, the ammunition detonated in the missile and artillery weapons (MAW) depot located on the northwestern outskirts of Zaytsevo village controlled by the Ukrainian army, which resulting in the explosion of the ammunition,” Eduard Basurin said. “According to our information, the explosion in the depot occurred due to the violations of the safety precautions during the unloading of the arrived ammunition lot.“

Eduard Basurin added that currently the Ukrainian military cordoned off the territory. The local administration is attempting to evacuate the population.

“We have repeatedly drawn attention to the possible consequences of the deployment of MAW depots in towns and villages and the lack of proper control over the storage of explosive ordnance, warned of a possible repeat of the ‘second Svatovo’. However, once again the Ukrainian side and international monitors have not heard us,” Eduard Basurin said.

The fire at an ammunition depot in Svatovo (the occupied part of the Lugansk People’s Republic) occurred on the evening of October 29th, 2015. Around 3500 tons of ammunition for multiple launch rocket systems ‘Grad’, ‘Smerch’, and ‘Uragan’ were stored there. Around 9000 square meters on the territory of the military facility alone were burned. As a result of the accident, 50 people were injured, 4 were killed.